It's not a stretch to think of the intense character actor Michael Shannon playing a father who comes a little unhinged in his efforts to protect himself and his family. What is a bit surprising is the way the Oscar-nominated Shannon came to play Curtis, a rural Ohio man who acts on his prophetic nightmares by renovating a storm cellar into something that can survive a holocaust in the new film, "Take Shelter. " "I recently started a family myself," says Shannon, whose daughter with actress Kate Arrington was born in 2008.

More than 40 years after his death, "On the Road" author Jack Kerouac is still making friends. "Man of Steel" star Michael Shannon and "Sopranos" actor John Ventimiglia will join a host of authors in a sold-out event Sunday in New York City to benefit the Orlando-based Kerouac Project. "Jack Kerouac: The Florida-New York Connection" will feature music inspired by the influential Beat Generation writer along with readings of his works. Authors from Orlando and New York will read alongside Shannon and Ventimiglia, including Kerouac Project co-founder Summer Rodman and Brooklyn poet Monica Wendel, who stayed at Kerouac's former home in College Park as part of the Kerouac Project's writer-in-residence program.

If Michael Shannon was hoping his next film might be a romantic comedy, "The Iceman" could torpedo those plans. After its world premiere in Venice, Italy, the actor's violent hit man drama enjoyed its North American premiere Saturday night at the Telluride Film Festival, cementing Shannon's reputation as one of Hollywood's most terrifying actors. Based on the true story of Richard Kuklinski, who was a contract killer by day and devoted family man by night, "The Iceman" is an operatically violent chronicle of a sociopath that seeks to explain one man's unquenchable rage.

I was in New York City last week. On Tuesday, Election Day, CNN had big screens in Times Square , and I joined the folks watching the returns. We cheered a lot, especially when CNN turned cameras on us. On Wednesday, a nor'easter struck NYC. I can't say I was ever in one before and don't care to be again. The snow was wet and sloppy, and there was slush everywhere. Homies and tourists alike were talking about Superstorm Sandy and the nor'easter. I was sitting next to Southern Californians in the Guggenheim Museum restaurant when we spotted the snow.

Diane Lane and Michael Shannon , who filmed the Superman reboot "Man of Steel" in the Chicago area last summer, will both return this fall in the name of theater. Lane will star in the Goodman Theatre 's production of "Sweet Bird of Youth" Sept. 14-Oct. 25 and will be on hand for Goodman's Season Opening Benefit Sept. 24. The Oscar-winner and wife of actor James Brolin plays Clark Kent's mother, Martha Kent, in "Man of Steel. " Oscar-nominee and "Boardwalk Empire" actor Michael Shannon, who plays villain General Zod in the superhero film, will co-host A Red Orchid Theatre's 20 th anniversary gala Nov. 12 at Sunda and The Underground.

Michael Shannon is up for the best supporting actor Oscar. But if you want his wagering advice, don't put your money on the dark horse. "I have a friend who looked up my odds in Vegas," Shannon drawls. "I think I'm 20-to-1." He pauses in the way that anybody who has ever seen in him a movie will recognize. Shannon takes a beat, giving his "audience" a moment to consider whether he's really chewing something over. Will he make a joke, or will be blow a fuse? "And Heath Ledger is 1-to-10, reverse odds.

NANCY PAMELA WATSON, 40, 105 Spears Lane, Melbourne, died Thursday. Born in Baileysville, W.Va., she moved to Melbourne from Anderson, Ind., in 1974. She was a homemaker. She was a member of Community Church of God, Melbourne. Survivors: son, Robert, Newport, R.I.; parents, Fred and June Shannon, Melbourne; brother, Michael Shannon, Monroe, La.; sisters, Pat Price, Janet Kelly, both of Melbourne, Alice McNerny, Merritt Island. Davis Funeral Home, Melbourne.

Paul Rudd and Michael Shannon will topline Craig Wright's play "Grace" in a Broadway production bowing in the fall. Ed Asner and Kate Arrington also will star in the show, to be helmed by Dexter Bullard, the director who's previously collaborated with Wright and Shannon on a string of productions including "Mistakes Were Made," which played Off Broadway's Barrow Street Theater in 2010, and "Bug," which had a run there in 2004....

Broadway's fall season has begun falling into place, with Main Stem plays "Grace" and "The Heiress" both setting theaters and dates. New play "Grace," by Craig Wright, will land at the Cort Theater, which last housed short-lived spring offering "The Lyons. " Starring Paul Rudd , Michael Shannon , Kate Arrington and Ed Asner , the Dexter Bullard-helmed production of "Grace" will begins preview Sept. 13 ahead of an Oct. 4 opening. Production also has locked in its design team, which will include Beowulf Boritt (sets)

Michael Shannon has made it. After studying in Los Angeles, Toronto, Budapest and Moscow, the 19-year-old American has become a soloist at the Bolshoi Ballet.A June graduate of the Bolshoi Ballet Academy, Shannon had hoped to be hired by the parent company. But that was far from certain, for foreign dancers are rare at the Bolshoi, a Russian institution for more than 200 years.''For 10 years, this is what I have worked for,'' said Shannon, a former resident of Los Angeles. ''At every stage, people would tell me that this couldn't be done.

If Michael Shannon was hoping his next film might be a romantic comedy, "The Iceman" could torpedo those plans. After its world premiere in Venice, Italy, the actor's violent hit man drama enjoyed its North American premiere Saturday night at the Telluride Film Festival, cementing Shannon's reputation as one of Hollywood's most terrifying actors. Based on the true story of Richard Kuklinski, who was a contract killer by day and devoted family man by night, "The Iceman" is an operatically violent chronicle of a sociopath that seeks to explain one man's unquenchable rage.

Diane Lane and Michael Shannon , who filmed the Superman reboot "Man of Steel" in the Chicago area last summer, will both return this fall in the name of theater. Lane will star in the Goodman Theatre 's production of "Sweet Bird of Youth" Sept. 14-Oct. 25 and will be on hand for Goodman's Season Opening Benefit Sept. 24. The Oscar-winner and wife of actor James Brolin plays Clark Kent's mother, Martha Kent, in "Man of Steel. " Oscar-nominee and "Boardwalk Empire" actor Michael Shannon, who plays villain General Zod in the superhero film, will co-host A Red Orchid Theatre's 20 th anniversary gala Nov. 12 at Sunda and The Underground.

"Premium Rush," starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Michael Shannon , is a lot like the ticking-clock thriller of "Speed," except instead of a big bus and a bigger bomb, there's a brakeless bike and a small envelope. Which actually doesn't sound like it would work at all as a tightly wound slice of street action, but it does, and in radically fresh ways. In a sense, the movie has its bomb in Shannon's dirty NYPD Det. Bobby Monday. He's a wired whack job with a gambling habit and rage issues.

Broadway's fall season has begun falling into place, with Main Stem plays "Grace" and "The Heiress" both setting theaters and dates. New play "Grace," by Craig Wright, will land at the Cort Theater, which last housed short-lived spring offering "The Lyons. " Starring Paul Rudd , Michael Shannon , Kate Arrington and Ed Asner , the Dexter Bullard-helmed production of "Grace" will begins preview Sept. 13 ahead of an Oct. 4 opening. Production also has locked in its design team, which will include Beowulf Boritt (sets)

Paul Rudd and Michael Shannon will topline Craig Wright's play "Grace" in a Broadway production bowing in the fall. Ed Asner and Kate Arrington also will star in the show, to be helmed by Dexter Bullard, the director who's previously collaborated with Wright and Shannon on a string of productions including "Mistakes Were Made," which played Off Broadway's Barrow Street Theater in 2010, and "Bug," which had a run there in 2004....

The upside of Sunday's Screen Actors Guild awards show: It was comparatively short. The downside: It was really boring. You know an awards show is in trouble when the best thing about it is the obits. I was reduced to wondering what was on the dinner plates. (Turns out the stars had a choice of chicken, salmon or veggies, any one of which probably would've been better than the pot roast I had earlier on SAG day at Mitchell's.) It's turning out to be another predictable awards season.

More than 40 years after his death, "On the Road" author Jack Kerouac is still making friends. "Man of Steel" star Michael Shannon and "Sopranos" actor John Ventimiglia will join a host of authors in a sold-out event Sunday in New York City to benefit the Orlando-based Kerouac Project. "Jack Kerouac: The Florida-New York Connection" will feature music inspired by the influential Beat Generation writer along with readings of his works. Authors from Orlando and New York will read alongside Shannon and Ventimiglia, including Kerouac Project co-founder Summer Rodman and Brooklyn poet Monica Wendel, who stayed at Kerouac's former home in College Park as part of the Kerouac Project's writer-in-residence program.

"Premium Rush," starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Michael Shannon , is a lot like the ticking-clock thriller of "Speed," except instead of a big bus and a bigger bomb, there's a brakeless bike and a small envelope. Which actually doesn't sound like it would work at all as a tightly wound slice of street action, but it does, and in radically fresh ways. In a sense, the movie has its bomb in Shannon's dirty NYPD Det. Bobby Monday. He's a wired whack job with a gambling habit and rage issues.

It's not a stretch to think of the intense character actor Michael Shannon playing a father who comes a little unhinged in his efforts to protect himself and his family. What is a bit surprising is the way the Oscar-nominated Shannon came to play Curtis, a rural Ohio man who acts on his prophetic nightmares by renovating a storm cellar into something that can survive a holocaust in the new film, "Take Shelter. " "I recently started a family myself," says Shannon, whose daughter with actress Kate Arrington was born in 2008.

Michael Shannon is up for the best supporting actor Oscar. But if you want his wagering advice, don't put your money on the dark horse. "I have a friend who looked up my odds in Vegas," Shannon drawls. "I think I'm 20-to-1." He pauses in the way that anybody who has ever seen in him a movie will recognize. Shannon takes a beat, giving his "audience" a moment to consider whether he's really chewing something over. Will he make a joke, or will be blow a fuse? "And Heath Ledger is 1-to-10, reverse odds.